Crow
by Ammamoris
Summary: This is a story with my own OC in it. I hope you guys like it. It's my first TMNT fanfic so far. I actually got the idea for my OC from a dream I had. I became a superhero (without powers) and defeated derpy sentinel with the Avengers. It was pretty cool other than the part that the sentinel looked like the moon from Majora's mask. Episodes after Wormquake don't exist (by the way).
1. Shrieks in the Night

The brisk September wind stung Leonardo's face. It felt good to be out tonight. He felt as if everything was going to go right. "Are ya ready leader or do we have to wait so you can enjoy the scenery?" "I'm coming Raph." Leonardo turned around to see his brothers waiting for him patiently, well most of them. A beeping noise came from Donatello's machine. Donnie looked down at it. "There's some mutagen around here. Let's go."

Usually on these missions Donnie seemed like the leader. When it came to machines, Leo had no experience of using them correctly. He couldn't use the computer without having problems. After running across the rooftops Donnie stopped abruptly. "Alright, start looking for some mutagen around this area." The four turtles began to search the rooftops for the mutagen. After a few minutes of searching thoroughly Mikey screamed "Found it!" He handed it to Donnie. "Not bad for a goofball, am I right?" Raph shrugged and said "I've seen better." Mikey scowled. Donnie put the mutagen in his satchel.

"So is there any more mutagen," asked Leonardo. "Well not from what I can—" Donnie was interrupted by an ear-splitting shriek. "What the shell was that," Raphael shouted. "I don't know. Let's go," Leo said while pulling out his katanas. So much for that perfect night. They began to run towards the shrieks.


	2. Snakeweed

"Leo, it's Snakeweed," said Donnie. Below Snakeweed was rampaging through the street. "Let's go," Leo said as he jumped down to the street. "Remember; don't draw much attention to yourself. We don't want the humans to know we exist." "I think we got bigger problems than the humans," replied Raph. The turtles began to corner Snakeweed in the middle of the street.

Snakeweed shrieked again and bashed the ground near Donnie. Donatello narrowly escaped. "Corner him into an alley," ordered Leonardo. Snakeweed continued to flail his arms at the turtles. Slowly they got him in the alley. "Let's do some weeding boys," Leo said. Raph rolled his eyes at the comment. "I must be getting better," Leo said, "because you guys haven't made fun of me yet." "I believe the key word is yet," said Donnie. Mikey chuckled and said "Ooh, burn." "Watch out," Leo shouted as he pushed Mikey out of the way. Snakeweed had made giant thorns erupt out of the ground where Mikey once stood.

"Didn't know he could do that," muttered Raphael. Raphael began to attack Snakeweed viciously. Snakeweed knocked him back. Raph groaned as he hit the concrete. The others continued to give blows to their foe. Raph rubbed his head as he sat up. He stopped moving when he saw a man standing on a rooftop. He was watching them.


	3. The Man

Raph blinked. He was still there. As Raphael stood up the man jumped down and landed on Snakeweed. "Who," said Raph confused. Raph realized that his brothers needed him and rejoined the fight. "Who's that," Leo asked. "I don't know," Raph replied as he dodged Snakeweed's attacks. After the man landed on it, it had been desperately trying to shake him off.

Finally the man got out a knife and stabbed it in the heart. With one final shriek, Snakeweed fell down and stopped moving. The man fell off and fell onto the concrete. He began to stumble up. Mikey looked up to him in awe. "Whoa, you were all like super cool. You just destroyed Snakeweed. Oh man, we need a nickname for you." The man's face was concealed by a hood but it looked like he was wearing a mask.

Leo tightened his grip on his katanas as the man drew out two tonfas out of his jacket. "Get ready," Leo muttered to his brothers. The man launched himself onto Mikey. "Get him off," screamed Mikey as the attacker clawed at his face. Leo pushed him off and began to fight with him. Leo noticed that the man was wearing a black bird mask with a long beak. The man was good, but not good enough. In a matter of seconds Leo knocked him on his back and pointed his katana at his throat.

"Guys, I think that dude's a dudette," said Mikey. "What," said Leonardo shocked by the sudden outburst. He looked down at the man. After a second look his face looked a little feminine. He reached to pull back the hood but was kicked in the gut by the man. "Get away from me," he shouted. The voice definitely belonged to a girl. She started to run away but sirens prevented the turtles from going after her. "Let's go," said Leo. Once they safely retreated to the sewers they began to talk.

"So, who was that," Mikey asked. "I don't know. She just came out of nowhere," Leonardo replied. Raph smirked and said "You'd think Leo would know because he falls in love with his enemies." "Shut up," said Leo while he pushed Raphael. "Gross," said Raph as he landed in a puddle. "Hurry up before Splinter freaks out," shouted Donnie who was far ahead of them.


	4. Science

"Hey Irma, did we have any homework for math," April asked. "No," Irma replied. "Thank god," said a voice behind April. It was Casey. Casey's clothes were worn down. There was rips and tears in his jeans and stains on his clothes. A loud ringing noise filled the hallway. April groaned. "I'm going to be late for science." She slammed her locker shut and waved back to her friends while racing down the hall. She arrived at her classroom in a matter of minutes. She stopped at the doorway.

The room was brimmed with students. Luckily the teacher didn't noticed April's tardiness from the crowd of students. The teacher began to call names for the seating chart. Eventually April's name was called. She plopped onto the chair. Instead of desks they had tables for two. A girl sat next to her. She was wearing a green shirt with the words "Save energy, don't talk to me." Her hair was a dark brown, almost black, that came down to her shoulders. Her hair was wavy.

"Uh, hi. I'm April." The girl looked startled at first but then replied "Hi, I'm Cori." "Nice to meet you. I like your shirt." "Oh, thanks," said Cori as she looked down at her shirt. April looked at her books. "Are you double advanced?" "What?" "Sorry, I mean, you're taking math that juniors take." "Oh, yeah right. Sorry it's just that the first week of school leaves me scatterbrained." April nodded. The teacher finished the seating chart and began introducing himself. "Second year of high school and away," April said unenthusiastically. Cori laughed. Her laugh was one of those clear loud ones. Luckily for her the teacher was trying to make a joke so he didn't notice the outburst. Science didn't seem so bad now.


	5. Patrol

"Hey April," said Donnie shyly as April walked into the lair. Leo was watching SAMFF, a new anime that the turtles found. Mikey was nowhere to be found. Donnie's smile faded as he saw Casey behind her. Raph greeted Casey with a high-five. Donnie sulked off into his lab when Splinter appeared. "April, I hope you came for some training." "Actually Splinter, is it okay if I work on my homework. I've confirmed that my English teacher is evil for giving us a packet for homework." "I suppose but when you finish it I would like you to join me in the dojo." "Thank you Master Splinter."

"Casey," acknowledged Splinter. Casey nodded his head and jogged towards Raph. Even after all this time he was still afraid of Splinter. Leo, Raph, Casey, and April were o the couch when they got startled by a loud noise. Raph turned around to see Donnie storming out of the lab. "Where ya goin'," he asked even though he already knew the answer. Donnie would often storm off to the surface when he got too frustrated with the retro-mutagen. Donatello didn't answer.

Leo stood up and turned off the TV. "I guess we should follow him. Raph could you get Mikey?" Raph nodded and walked towards Mikey's room. Michelangelo was usually secretive and would become furious if you went into his room. To avoid the fight Raph knocked and said "Donnie's storming off again." Mikey opened up the door and started to walk out of the lair. They eventually caught up to Donnie on the surface. Donnie was staring at the sunset. Leonardo put his hand on his shoulder and said "C'mon, let's go on patrol." Donnie nodded and followed his brothers on their annual routine.


	6. Crow

After running a few laps around the city Donnie's mood brightened up and he became his normal self. "Alright, now that we warmed up we should train," suggested Leo. His suggestion was followed by a series of moans. "What? It'll be fun. We'll start off with a foot race to that building," Leo said. "I don't see the point," Donnie said. "Yeah, because clearly I'm going to win," bragged Mikey. "Right in a million years," Raph mocked. "Then why don't we find out if Mikey is as good as he says," said Leo. The turtles lined-up in a row. "Ready, set—" "You're too slow," screamed Raph as he started running.

The rest began to run after him. Raph looked back and quickly saw that Mikey was gaining on him. He quickened his speed. He looked back. He left them all in the dust. He laughed. He looked at the buildings. Then he noticed something. Five Foot robots were with Rahzar. Raph didn't look where he was going and almost fell off the building he was on. Mikey sped by. "You better hurry up!" Leo and Donnie soon followed. Instead of running past they stopped. "What's the matter," asked Donnie still panting. Mikey stopped running and came back. "Guys, it's no fun if you don't chase me."

Leo followed Raphael's gaze and saw Rahzar and the Foot. All four of them crouched on the building. "What do you think they want," asked Leo. "I can't tell. They're blocking my view," Donnie replied. "Okay when I say, go—" Too late. His brothers were already running down to fight them. Leonardo rolled his eyes and followed. At a closer view, the Foot and Rahzar were huddled around the girl they saw the other night when they were fighting Snakeweed. Two robots restrained her as she got beaten up. Rahzar turned around and snarled. "My favorite turtles." "Looks like it's time to put the dog in the pound." Leo's brothers groaned. "You shouldn't be too mean on him, that was pretty good for something made up on the spot," growled Rahzar as he attacked Raphael.

The Foot bots left the girl and attacked the turtles. Defeating the robots was easy, what the brothers were worried about was Rahzar. "I like the new look, it really suits you," mocked Raph as he parried one of Rahzar's attacks. Rahzar snarled and clawed at Raph. Donnie jumped in front of Raph and hit Rahzar's mouth. Mikey quickly pushed Rahzar off the roof with Leo's help. Rahzar gracefully landed and ran away. Donnie helped up Raph and bandaged a wound along his arm. When Donnie finished they walked towards the girl.

She was lying on her back with her hands behind her head. "Is she dead," asked Mikey as he poked her. "No, I'm not," the girl mumbled. She sat up and looked at them. Her face was pale in the moonlight. Again a black bird mask was on her face. All you could see was her golden eyes. "Turtles," she said. "Finally someone notices that we're turtles," joked Raph. "What do they call you then," she asked. "Kung fu frogs." She laughed. It was a beautiful clear laugh. "So are you going to attack us or something," Leo asked. This was followed by chuckles from his brothers. "Leo, you should have asked Rahzar that before the fought. Maybe he would have said no," chuckled Donnie. The girl shook her head. "Why would I attack someone who…" She stopped talking and clutched her stomach.

"Are you ok," asked Raph. "Yes, no. Definitely no." She ran to the edge of the rooftop and puked. "I hope nobody uses that fire escape soon." "Do you need a hospital or something," Raph asked. "No. You know I just ate dinner an hour ago and now I'm being punched in the gut. Oh look, there's my spaghetti." She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "I'm fine now, thanks." "What's your name," Mikey asked. "You know there's a thing called secret identities." "No, not that name. I mean your superhero name." She shrugged and said "I don't have one. "What!" Mikey shouted. "Of course you have to have one. Don't worry I'm the name master." Mikey walked over to her and examined her. He stared at her face. "Hmm… You look like a 'Crow'."

She turned and looked at Donnie. "What's the matter? You've been staring at me this whole time." Donatello looked at her and said "You're that vigilante on the news. The one that always shows up at night." "Surprise," she said. "Now if you don't mind I got to beat up some more people." She jumped to the next rooftop and ran away. "I like her," Raph said. "You like anyone who beats up people," Leo remarked. "True," Raph agreed.


	7. Mysophobia

April looked up at Cori. "So then I said…" "You said what," asked Cori. April looked in horror. "What happened," April said while pointing at Cori's eyes. "What, oh you mean this?" Cori pointed to her black eye. "I was ice skating the other day, turns out ice is slippery." "Cori Faliva," the teacher called. Cori shot up her hand. The teacher looked up and flinched. "What happened to your face Faliva?" "First rule about fight club is that we don't talk about it." "If you didn't want to talk about it then you could have said so," the teacher replied.

Cori just shrugged. April began to play with the led in her pencil as the teacher lectured about what he expects. Some of the led fell out and rolled next to Cori's arm. April reached over and picked up the pieces. She touched hand slightly and Cori shrank back. "Sorry." April didn't realize that Cori was most likely mysophobic. Cori didn't reply but just stared at her. She quickly turned away. As the day inched on, April noticed that everyone gave her funny looks as she passed by.

"Red, hey red," Casey said. "Is there something more interesting than my beautiful mug?" "No, I'm just thinking," April replied while she picked at her food. During her conversation with Casey, she kept stealing looks of Cori with her friends across the cafeteria. "Who are you looking at," Casey said as he looked through the crowd of students. "Cori, she's hurt." "Her, why do you even care?" "Well I like her." "Like, like like?" "No, I mean as a friend," she said as she punched Casey in the arm. Casey muttered something under his breath. "I didn't hear what you said but I don't like it. I just think that she's avoiding me."

"Why?" "I don't know. I think she's mysophobic." Casey gave her a blank stare. "It means you're afraid of germs." "What a lame fear." "You're the one who's afraid of Master Splinter." "Talking about things we shouldn't talk about. I am truly ashamed." April rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's a good thing it's Friday though. Otherwise it would be really awkward." "It already is," Casey said as he took his tray away.


	8. Kraang (? POV)

"I can't believe you. You went out without my permission." "Look, I said I was sorry mom," I whined. "Honestly you're just like your father some days." My mom was wiping my face with a tissue. Her dark hair was tightly knotted into a bun. She was wearing her uniform. "Mom, you can leave. Don't worry, next time I leave the house I'll make sure to ask you." "Alright. I just want you to be safe." My mom got up and grabbed her ID card for the museum. She was a security guard for the museum at night. "Don't worry about me." I began shooing her mom towards the door. "Go catch some crooks!" "Bye!"

I closed the door after her mom. I sighed. Having my mom as a security guard was perfect. At night I could go patrol the streets without having to make up an alibi. I strolled towards my room and picked up a grey hoodie. I scowled as I saw a tear. I put on the hoodie and a gray bandana to hide my hair. I tied a black bird mask over my face. I took my time as I put my weapons in my hoodie. I put my tonfas in my hoodie and knives in my shoes and pockets. I attached a leather strap over my back to hold a medium size baseball bat. I slipped on my black leather gloves. I reminded myself of what happens when I didn't wear them like today. Who knew April was friends with the turtles. Once I was ready I left through the window.

The other night I got a lead to one of the Kraang's activities. I ran through the back ways for a shortcut to the docks. The sunset was beautiful on the horizon. The water warped the color in magnificent ways. But now wasn't time to enjoy the scenery. Now was the time to act. I waited until one of the Kraang robots disguised as a man walked out of the warehouse by the docks. I quickly stabbed it in the stomach where the Kraang resides. The robot fell limp on the ground. I picked up the gun it was holding. I pulled the trigger to release a laser. I grinned wickedly. I walked into the warehouse. From the inside it looked normal but I knew better.

Again I waited until a Kraang came from behind a cargo shipment. I jogged towards the spot where it came from. I looked for anything suspicious. Finally I found a button which opened up an elevator. Before I climbed in I looked for a breaker box. When I found it I turned off the lights for cover. I jogged back to the elevator and waited. Finally sI got to the floor where the Kraang did their experiments. Fortunately I switched off the right lights. It was pitch dark except for the faint glowing lights that came from the robots. From what I could tell, they were working on a samurai robot. Next to it was a man with a collar around his neck.

I navigated her way in the dark to be as close to the robot as I could. "When this is finished, the turtles will be done for," a voice said. It came from the collared man. "Now turn on the lights so I can turn it on." At that moment I shot the robot going towards the samurai robot. The man looked shocked. A loud alarm went off. I looked around; Kraang robots were going to surround me. I ran behind a support beam but got shot in my back. I screamed. My skin felt like it was being used for firewood. However I still managed to take shelter behind a support beam. From there I began to shoot at whoever I could. Again I got shot but this time it was in my side. My knees were beginning to buckle but I still remained upright.

The confusion of the battle made me oblivious to the man turning on the Samurai. Next thing I knew was a large metal hand hitting me in the gut. The blow sent me flying across the room. My face twisted in pain. Before I could stand up the robot grabbed me by the throat. I started to lose consciousness. Out of the corner of her eye, I saw the turtles bust in. "It's Crow," one of them shouted. I forgot that they gave me a name. Before I passed out I said "You're late," in a raspy voice.


	9. Injured

"It's Crow," Mikey shouted as they exited the air vent. It was hard to tell but it looked like a samurai was choking her. It dropped her and started to walk towards them. "And Baxter Stockman," said Donnie. Leo realized that the samurai was actually a robot. It was being controlled by Baxter Stockman. "Get Crow and shut this place down," Leo ordered as they charged into battle. The fight was one big blur of lasers and metal for Leo. He made his way towards Baxter. If he could stop him the robot would be defenseless. Out of nowhere a metal hand hit him in the gut.

Leo landed on the floor with a loud thump. He rolled out of the way as the samurai attacked him with a sword. "Get Baxter," he managed to yell at last. Donnie ran towards Stockman while Raph came to Leonardo's help. As he helped Leo up a sword swung in their direction. It stopped just inches before it hit them. Donnie was successful with stopping Baxter. But there was more Kraang attacking them before. Before Leo could say anything Raphael picked up Crow and started to carry her. "C'mon! Let's go," he yelled. Quickly Leo jabbed the robot in the head. Sparks flew out. The four brothers began to run towards the elevator. It closed just before a Kraang grabbed them. The only sound in the elevator was their breathing.


	10. Secret Identity

Once back at ground level, they raced to the Shellraiser. "Drive Leo, drive!" Leo smashed the gas pedal with his foot. "No, no, no, no…" "What's the matter Donnie," Leo asked. "Just get to the lair as fast as you can." A twenty minute drive turned to ten as Leo sped through the streets of Manhattan. Finally they arrived at the old subway entrance. Leo decreased the speed as they pulled near the garage. Donnie lifted Crow into the lab. "Mikey clear off a space for Crow," Donnie ordered.

After the table was cleared, Donnie set her gently on the table. "Is she going to be ok," said Raphael in a worried face. Leo never saw him look like that unless one of them was hurt badly. Donnie got out a knife and started to cut Crow's shirt off. She grabbed his arm. "Don't" "We have to," Donnie replied. "No, you don't understand. You can't touch me." Donnie continued to cut the shirt off. "Stop," she screamed. Finally Donnie cut off the shirt to reveal her tank top. "If you're worried about privacy, it's a little late." "No, don't touch me." Donnie rolled up her tank top, and touched her wound. Crow screamed. She clutched her head. "I'm sorry, I—" "Was being stupid? You shouldn't considering you're the smart one." "How did you, never mind. Right now we need to tend to your wounds. Donnie reached for her mask. "What are you doing?" "I need to turn you on your back."

He took off her mask and put it on the table. Her left eye was blackened and puffy. With a loud slam, April opened the door. "Is everyone…" She stopped moving and stared at Crow. "No," muttered Crow. "Cori? Is that you?" "Surprise," she mumbled. "You know her," asked Raph. "She's, she's my friend." April was clearly horrified to find out that her friend was the infamous Crow. Her eyes flittered to Cori's face and then her wounds. She gave a small gasp. "Pass me the alcohol," Donnie said. Raph was the first one to react. Donnie dabbed some on a cotton ball and pressed it into her wounds. Cori grimaced. Leo could tell she was stifling a sob. "I need to be by myself," Donnie said. "C'mon guys, let Donnie take care of this," Leo said. He herded his brothers and April out of the lab. The last thing Leo heard was Donnie saying "We need to talk."


	11. The Truth

An hour later of waiting Donnie emerged from the lab. His face was showed how uneasy he was. "Is she ok," asked April in a small voice. Splinter was also in the living room. When the brothers left the laboratory, they told Splinter all about their encounter with Crow. Donnie nodded. "But there's something I—" "We need to say," said Crow as she came out of the room. Donnie rushed towards her as she began to fall. "You can't walk, not like this," Donnie whispered to her. "Yes I can, I'm, I'm fine," she said while leaning on Donnie's shoulder. Donnie helped her towards the couch where she collapsed on it.

She winced when she tried to sit up. "Crow this is Master Splinter," Raph said shyly. "I know, I know. You're Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo," Cori said while pointing at each of the turtles. "How did you know our names? Are you psychic like April? Wait, wait. What am I thinking of," Mikey said excitedly. "Yes, well no I… I have powers." "So you're a super hero," Mikey said. "No, I can access people's minds when I touch them. But it has to be skin to skin contact. I can read Donnie's and April's minds and their memories and experiences." "Whoa." "So what are you doing with the Kraang," asked Leo.

"Well last year, there was an attack by aliens. The government says that there was some gas leak that makes you hallucinate and what we were really seeing was a blimp but nobody buys it. Then one day one of my friends went missing. That's when I really got interested in the Kraang. One day she came to my house. Her clothes were all ripped. She said that the Kraang were following her. At the time I had no clue what the Kraang was, but I knew something was wrong. Then randomly she just ran away after telling me that. I ran after her and saw these men kidnap her. I wanted to do something but I was…"

She stopped and cried softly. "I'm sorry, she uh, I was just too scared. They took her and I wanted to save her. I realized that it was my fault that they got away so now I'm still searching for her. But whenever there's a mutant or robots I know it's the Kraang. I know about the mutagen and the portals. I even know about them working with the foot. I have a colleague who gives me information." Cori wiped her face dry. She smiled weakly at them. "At least I haven't died yet. It could always be worse." They were all left in silence.

"What time is it," Cori asked. "It's almost midnight," said Splinter. "I, I need to call my mother." She looked up at Donnie. "Do you have my phone?" "Here," he said as he passed her phone to her. The screen was cracked from the fight. Cori dialed a number. "Mom, yeah is it okay if I stay with a friend. Sorry about the lateness. I lost track of time. No, no we just got lost. Yeah I have my sleepover stuff. Is it okay if I stay the weekend? Including Monday. Thanks. I love you, bye." She looked up from the phone with weary eyes. "Is it okay if I stay for the week end?" "Yeah," stuttered Raph.

"Oh geez, I got to get home," said April. "I'll see you tomorrow or today." "Let me go with you," offered Donnie. "Just give me a sec," he said. He helped Cori up and walked her to the extra bedroom. Donnie came back and escorted April out. One by one the brothers went to their bedrooms and fell asleep.


	12. Broken Phone

Cori woke up around noon. Her stomach grumbled from the lack of food. She walked down the hall and into the main room. She noticed that no one was there. "Raph you got it into my eyes," shouted Donnie. Suddenly Cori's eyes felt like they were on fire. Donnie must have gotten orange juice in his eyes. She walked into the kitchen all blurry-eyed. "Donnie, please try not to hurt yourself. You're going to kill me sometime. My eyes are burning." "You never told me that," Donatello said. "Told you what?" "That you can feel my pain." "I, I forgot," she said with a yawn.

"Eeewww," said Mikey. "Leo you burned the toast." "Well I'm sorry, I'm not good with cooking," Leo responded. "Why did we even let you cook at all," asked Raphael. Leo just shrugged. Cori sat down on the bar stool. "Shouldn't you guys be eating lunch," she asked. "Ninjas gotta sleep," Raph said. "Don't worry bros. I got a back-up plan," Mikey said as he moved towards the fridge. He opened the door and pulled out dome leftover pizza. "Alright," Raph shouted. Cori looked in disgust. "Do you want some Crow," asked Donnie. "First of all it's Cori and second of all cold pizza is gross. Do you guys own a microwave or something?"

Leo pointed behind him as he handed her a plate. She took it and put two slices of pizza on it. She looked at it with even more disgust than before. There was pepperoni smothered with ketchup and mayonnaise. "Never mind," she said trying not to puke. She got up and walked over to the couch. She started to rub her temples. "Ugh… It's like I got shot or something," she joked to herself. She heard someone chuckling behind her. She looked and it was Raph. "Is this seat taken?" She shook her head. "How do you feel?" "Okay I guess. I can walk but it's not my favorite hobby right now."

She turned to look at him. "I have a question. Could we go to my apartment to get some clothes since Donnie tore mine up?" "Uh, sure. We could go now." "Great let's go," she said as she stood up. "You know, you're a lot stronger than you look," Raphael said. "What makes you say that," Cori asked. "Well you just got shot and now you're walking like nothing happened." Cori smirked and started walking to the exit dressed only in her tank top.

"Whoa, where are you going," Leo said as he noticed Cori leaving. "To get clothing," she replied. "Not in that you aren't," said Donnie. He got up from his chair and went to his room. "No, not that ugly thing," said Cori as he walked into his room. He returned with a black windbreaker. "Just because you can walk doesn't mean you can't get sick." Cori unwillingly put it on and followed the turtles out of the sewers. Once they got on the surface the turtles followed her on the rooftops while she was on the street. Eventually they reached a small apartment building. She turned into an alley way to meet the turtles.

"Do you think you can climb up," Leo gestured at the fire escape. "No," she said. "I can walk but I don't think I could do anything that extreme." "Here, I'll carry you," Raph offered. She nodded. Raphael picked her up and began to climb up the fire escape. At the third floor they stopped and opened a window. Cori climbed in and started to go through her room. She got out a blue duffel bag and filled it with clothing. While her mom was sleeping she took her toiletries from the bathroom. She walked back into her and sat down on her bed. There was a loud crackling sound. She pulled out her phone from her back pocket. She broke the screen completely.

She swore quietly. "Hey, are you ready," whispered Mikey. "Yeah, hold on." She picked up her duffel bag and climbed through the window. Raph helped her down and soon they were back in the lair. "Hey, do you know where the bathroom is," Cori asked. "It's the last door in the hallway with the bedrooms in it," Leo said. "Thanks." She walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. There she brushed her teeth and her hair. She sighed as she looked into the mirror. Her black eye was no longer swollen but it was still a dark shade of purple. She also had a bruise on the side of her face. She went into her bedroom and got changed.

She decided to put on something nice. Whenever she was down, she would always wear something pretty. She put one a new tank top and a blue short-sleeve shirt with an intricate pattern on it. She walked over to the trash can and threw away the ruined tank top from yesterday. There was a knocking on the door. "Yes Donnie." "Uh, I'd like to change your bandages." "Sure just give me a minute." She looked at her phone. The screen was so badly damaged she could hardly read anything on it. She put the phone on the dresser and left for the lab.


	13. Meeting Casey

Cori began to unravel her shirt so Donatello could change the bandages. The whole time Cori stared at him. "Is there something in my teeth," Donnie joked. "What, no. You're just, a lot smarter than you act. Like Albert Einstein smart. It's kinda like that smart where it's scary." "Could you not go poking around in my mind," Donnie said as he dabbed her wounds with alcohol. She winced and said "How come you don't act smart around your brothers. Like you do but not that creepy smart." "Because I don't want my brothers to treat me differently because my intelligence is greater than theirs."

Donnie finished up rewrapping her wounds. "There, done." Cori pulled down her shirt and stood up from the table she was sitting on. "Hey Donnie, could you train me?" Donnie looked at her and shook his head. "No, last time I trained someone they turned into mutagen. Besides, if you want anyone to train you ask Leo. He's loves training, probably the best fighter out of all of us." "Thanks Don."

Cori began to walk out of the room when she heard a high pitch scream. April. She began to run towards the entrance but then stopped. Donnie ran out of his lab. Cori grabbed his arm and said "It's fine. Mikey just pulled a prank on her." Donnie slowed down his pace as he walked towards April. She was carrying a purple bag which was filled with clothes. April was staying over for the weekend. Cori looked over at her and saw Casey.

Cori froze in her spot. If Casey found out who she was everyone would find out. Everyone in the school knew he was a blabbermouth. She sprinted past them and into her room. Casey barely saw her go by. "Who's that?" "Oh it's just…" Raph said but was signaled by April to be quiet. She began walking to Cori's room. April knocked on the door.

"Hey, Cori are you okay," April said in a low voice. "Is he gone," said Cori from behind the door. "No. Um, do want us to keep your identity a secret. We could call you your codename. The name Mikey gave you." "Crow," Cori said. "Yeah, I'll get your mask for you if you want and a hoodie." "I have a hoodie, but my mask would be nice." April nodded even though Cori couldn't see her. April rushed over to Donnie's lab to avoid being questioned by Casey. She began rummaging through Donnie's stuff.

Donnie walked in and walked over to her desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out Cori's mask. "How did you know," ask April as she grabbed the mask. Donatello shrugged and said "It's obvious, isn't it. The way she ran to her room." "Thanks," April said as she walked out of the room. Outside everyone was huddled next to the door. "April is everything all right," Splinter asked. "Yes, it's just some rude turtle scared me." Everyone looked at Mikey. Mikey looked shock. "Me, I would never. In fact, I believe it was Leo." "Yeah right," said Leo. "See! He even admits it!" April rolled her eyes as she pushed past the boys.


	14. The Bird Mask

April knocked on Cori's door. "Did you get it?" "Yeah," April replied. Cori opened up the door. April slipped in and tossed her the bird mask. Cori was no longer wearing her blue blouse but instead a grey hoodie. Her hair was wrapped in a white bandana to hide her hair. It was also pulled into a ponytail. April sat down on the bed as Cori pulled on her mask. "You know, you can tell Casey. He's pretty good at keeping secrets. After all he hasn't said anything about the turtles." "I know I just would rather not. I just don't want him to slip one day. Even if no one believed him I would rather be safe than sorry." Cori pulled over her hood. April giggled. "What," Cori asked. "How many grey hoodie do you own? I mean you must have a ton if you go out being a hero all the time." "Actually I have five."

Cori continued fidgeting with her clothing until she finally said "Remember. My codename is Crow. Got it?" April nodded as she stood up. Cori and April exited the room. The guys were still huddled up in a circle except for Splinter. He had gone off somewhere. Casey was the first to notice them. "Hey red. Who's that?" "This is Crow. She's a friend of ours." "You're not telling me something," he said. "Of course not, why would she be hiding anything. It's not like she has some horrific secret or something. I mean we didn't meet her while fighting the Kraang or anything," said Mikey suspiciously. Raph and Leo gave him a glare. "What," he said. Crow wasn't surprised. She didn't think Mikey could keep quiet for long anyways.


	15. Training with Leonardo

The next day Cori woke up at nine. She ate some cereal and met Leo in the living room. She stood behind him while he watched TV. "Hey Leo?" "Mhmm…" "Could you train me?" Leo turned around on the couch and stared at Cori. Leo shook his head. "I don't think Sensei would want us teaching our ninja skills to others." "No, I mean, just the basics. Nothing fancy. Just how to dodge and stuff." Leo scratched his head and turned towards the TV. "I think that's fine, I suppose." Crow perked up. "Great, let's start now!" Leo looked at her. "Uh, I guess…"

He looked back at the TV with big eyes. He hasn't finished the episode of Space Heroes. Cori rolled her eyes. "C'mon. That show ended like five years ago. You can always watch it online." Leo stood up. "I highly doubt that. Donnie would bite off my hand before I even got near his computer." "Doesn't Mikey have one?" "More like stole one from Donnie." Leo opened the sliding door to the dojo. Master Splinter was standing next to the wall. Cori tried to see what he was looking at but couldn't see past him.

"Sensei?" Splinter turned around to his son's voice. Cori saw that he was staring at a photo of a man and a woman holding a child. "Yes, Leonardo?" "Well, uh, Cori asked if it was okay, I mean. If it's okay for you, that I can teach Cori basic stuff." "I will allow that. If you need me, I'll be out to get some food." Splinter left the room without another word. Although Splinter was gone, Leo was still tense. "Nervous much," Cori teased.

"Ha ha. You're hilarious." "It's a natural gift." Cori cracked her knuckles as she approached the tree in the room. She looked up at it then back to Leo. "How do you grow a tree in the sewers?" Leonardo shrugged. "I don't know, ask Donnie. Now do you want to start with defense or offense?" "Best defense is a good offense, or maybe it's the other way around." Cori took up a fighting stance and put her arms up.

She smiled up at Leo. "Defense it is. Now first we'll start with basic blocking." Leo walked over to her. "Now, how do you block?" Cori gave him a quizzical look. "I don't understand." Leo sighed. "I'll throw a punch and I want to see how you handle it." Cori nodded. Leonardo got into a fighting stance. Minutes ticked past until Leo finally attacked.

He threw a punch which could be easily blocked. Cori gracefully shuffle to her right in a quick motion and pushed his fist away with the side of her forearm. Her left leg slightly hesitated while moving. Leo did it again and she blocked the same way. Her left leg slightly hesitating. Leo punched again but this time tripped Cori's left leg while she was moving. She gasped in surprise as she tumbled down. Cori looked up to see Leo's outstretched hand.

She grabbed it as she pulled herself up. "Your left leg hesitates when you move. Try to fix that." Cori tightened her lips and nodded. They took their original stances again. "Ready?" "Born ready." Leo smiled. At least she had enthusiasm which his brothers lacked. Again Leo threw a punch and again Cori blocked it. Leo examined that her left leg was still hesitating. He went to trip he when Cori surprised him and jumped so his leg harmlessly slid on the ground.

He drew back his leg before she crushed it. Cori landed crookedly almost making her trip. Leo pushed her to the ground. Cori fell on her back with a loud thump. She propped herself on her elbows and looked up at Leonardo. His hand was yet again held out for her. "You almost got me." Cori blew some of her hair out of her face. She opened her mouth to reply when Raphael burst into the room.

"Are you guys all right?" "Fine just fine." Raph looked at her with a worried face that neither of them had saw before when Cori grabbed her side where her wound was. 'My back hurts," she groaned. She pushed herself up and stumbled towards the door. Raph immediately followed along with Leo. All Leo could think about was why Raph looked so worried.


	16. Mad Scientist

Cori knocked on the door to Donnie's lab. Donnie greeted her with a bright grin. "Hey Cori, what's the matter?" Cori rubbed her arm. "I don't mean to sound like a wimp, but I think I might have opened my wounds while training with Leo." "Why would I think you're a wimp?" Cori looked down. Her dark hair covered her face as she looked down. "Because it hurts." Donnie rolled his eyes. "Come on." Cori walked inside. The lab smelled like bleach. "Spill something?" Donnie was rummaging through his desk. "What, oh right, the bleach. Yeah I needed to clean up an experiment."

Cori pulled off her shirt so Donnie could see her shirt. Donnie inspected it with a q tip. "Yeah you opened up the wounds all right." Donnie began to put on a transparent paste on her wounds. "So how come you're always cooped up in here?" Donnie started to reapply the bandages. "Oh you know, science stuff." "Donnie." "I'm trying to find a retro-mutagen. I made some mistakes and I plan to make up for them." Cori pulled her shirt back down as he finished the last bandage.

"Well, don't get too bored," Cori said, "Or I might have to get things interesting again by getting myself almost killed." "Bye." Donnie waved goodbye but wasn't looking. He was already at his desk working on something. Cori sighed. "It wasn't your fault Donnie," Cori said before she left. Donnie looked up. "What wasn't my fault?" Cori stood in the doorway but didn't turn around. "You know what I mean." With that Cori closed the door.

She let out a deep sigh. She hadn't notice April come in. She was sitting on the couch with Casey. Cori stealthily snuck into her room to grab her mask. It was gone. "Who touched my stuff!?" She didn't mean to say it so loud but she hated it when someone reorganized her room. Mikey looked into the room. "What's up Crow?" Cori bit her lip. "Do you know where my mask is?" Mikey stared blankly as he thought of when he saw it last. "I think, I think Raphie took it." Cori smiled. "Raphie?" Mikey laughed. "Yeah, but don't tell him I said that." Cori became calm whenever she hung out with Mikey. She hadn't notice it before but she definitely did now.

"Do you know where he is?" "Yup. He's in the kitchen." Cori frowned. Casey was next to the kitchen. "Does Casey know my identity?" "Uh, I don't think so." Cori ran her fingers through her hair. She forgot she was wearing gloves. Her hair was what she called "staticy" now. "Could you ask him if he has it?" "Has what?" "The mask." "Oh right. BRB" Cori took off her leather gloves. She patted her hair to try to get rid of the static electricity. She only made it worse.

She didn't dare to go to the bathroom to fix it in fear that Casey would see her. Mikey came back shortly. "He says he doesn't know where it is." Mikey chuckled. "What?" "Nothing, mad scientist." Cori didn't have to look to tell that he was laughing at her hair. She knew it was standing up. She slid past Mikey and quickly walked to the bathroom.

Once inside she quickly slammed the door, causing too much noise than she had meant it to cause. She rushed over to the sink and poured water onto her hands. After her hands got wet she stroked through her hair to stop it from sticking. She dried off her fingers and opened the door. With luck, Casey might have ignored the slamming door. She opened the door to come face to face with Casey Jones.


	17. The Argument (Casey's POV)

I was sitting on the couch with April when I heard someone shout "Who touched my stuff!?" I was about to get up when April stopped me. She may seem fragile but her grip was like iron. "Relax, it's probably Raph." I looked back to where the sound came from. "But, it kinda sounded like a girl." "Trust me on this one." I looked into April's blue eyes. "Alright," I said as I sat myself down. We continued to watch the hockey game. I jerked up as I watched the game. "C'mon! That was the perfect shot!"

I looked over at April to find her crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "What," I said, "Hockey is my life." I heard a door slam loudly. I decided to check it out. Again April stopped me. "Don't," she said quietly. I shook her grip off. "What are you hiding from me Red?" I ran off to where the sound came from before April could stop me. I tried to remember where exactly it came from. I walked down the hallway to the turtle's rooms and stopped by the bathroom. I could see light coming from underneath the door.

Finally it opened. I expected Raph might be angry or something because whenever he was he usually splashed his face with water, but this wasn't Raph. It was a girl. She was wearing a black shirt that was too big for her. Her mouth was open but nothing came out. It took me a moment to realize that it was Cori Faliva from school. "Cori?" "Yeah, uh, what are you doing here?" She was trying to sound like this was normal but I knew better. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You know about the turtles!"

Cori was trying to play it cool but she was horrible at it. She smiled widely as she said "Turtles? What turtles?" She held out her arm to lean on the door frame but missed and fell onto the floor. I caught her just before she hit the ground. I tried to help her up but she pushed me away. She looked at me in horror but then she sighed in relief. April came over and looked at us. She glared at me. "What?" She took Cori's hand and pulled her into the hallway.

"You shouldn't have nosed around in someone's business." "I'm sorry I was worried for my friends." "Friend you wouldn't have cared at all if it was Donnie or Mikey. Not even Leo. All you care about is Raph." I couldn't believe April. She never yelled at me like that before. "Is this what you're upset about? You're just jealous that I get to hang out with Raph." By now we were both shouting at the top of our lungs. Mikey, Raph, and Leo poked their heads into the hallway but didn't intervene. Why would they? This isn't their business.

"I'm not jealous," April shouted. I looked over to Cori for help. She looked pale. "What are you then? Do you just not like me?" "No it's not that you idiot!" By now Donnie had joined his brothers in the hallway. He opened his mouth to say something but never did. "Then what is it?" "Like you would understand. The point is you should have listened to me." "Oh, I'm sorry my majesty. Would you like me to polish your shoes as well?" "I wish you weren't so, so…" "So what? You know what, I don't care!" I stormed off past Mikey and Leo and Donnie. "C'mon Raph, I need to blow off some steam." Raph hesitated but then followed. I heard April mutter something but I didn't care. I'll never care.


	18. Narcissism

Raph glared at April and Cori before he left with Casey. The intensity of his gaze lessened when he looked at Cori. April stood there, still holding Cori, but her fire was burned out. She was no longer angry, just shocked. She let go of Cori when Donnie walked over to comfort her. They walked together to the couch. Leo left for the dojo but Mikey stayed behind with Cori. "Are you okay Mikey," Cori asked. "Yeah it's just, I never seen April fight with Casey like that. I don't know why she got so upset. She's usually pretty level-headed about these things." Cori said nothing. She pulled out her black leather gloves out of her pocket and slipped them on. "Wanna go get some pizza or something?" Mikey smiled but then it slowly faded. "No, we can't. Sensei's goin' to get some food." Mikey and Cori walked down the hall.

April and Donnie were sitting next to each other on the couch. They were talking to low for Cori to listen. Of course she could always listen to their thoughts but she didn't feel like it. Cori trudged into the kitchen to get something to drink. There was some Coke in the fridge. She pulled it out and poured some into a glass. She glanced up at the clock. It read 12:23. How could that be, Cori thought. The training must have been longer than expected. Mikey sat down on a stool next to the table. Cori and Mikey talked through the next twenty minutes until Splinter came back with pizza for his sons and other supplies. Cori picked up a piece of pizza and shoved it into her mouth.

"Where is Raphael?" "Hees wit Casy on te surfis," replied Cori. Her mouth was still filled with pizza. "He's with Casey to blow off some steam," Leo said. Splinter looked a little sad but only for a moment. Maybe Cori had imagined because he no longer showed it. Cori looked up at the clock again. She almost choked on her food. "Are you okay," asked Donnie. Cori wiped her mouth with her glove. "Yeah, I forgot I need to call my mom." Donnie's eyes widened. "I forgot something too. Here." He passed her a phone that resembled a turtle shell.

"Narcissistic much?" "It's a phone to contact us with. I also took your contacts from your old phone and put them in here. Oh and also." He walked into his lab and came back out with her mask. "So you're the one who went into my room!" Donnie rubbed his neck. "Sorry but I noticed your phone was broken and though I could fix some other things." "What 'other things.'" Donnie grabbed the mask back and twisted a small knob that wasn't there before. "I've given your mask some advancements like night vision and infrared." Cori wasn't listening, she was texting her mother. "Yeah, I'll check that out. Now uh I gotta go."


	19. A walk Home

Cori walked to her bedroom and started shoving her stuff in her duffel bag. She paused. Her wounds burned like crazy. She stood there breathing in and out slowly until the pain faded. She turned towards the door. Michelangelo was standing in the doorway. "Make sure to visit us every night." "What?" Mikey blushed. "That sounded a lot creepier than in my head. Donnie wants you to come back every night to see if your laser burns will heal. Need an escort?" Cori zippered the bag shut and slipped on her jacket she brought with her. "Sure," she said as she slipped the strap over her shoulder.

She waved to all of the turtles as she left the lair. She chatted with Mikey as they strolled through the sewers. "It reeks down here." Mikey inhaled deeply. "Don't you love that stench of sewage?" Cori smirked. "So, how's life?" "Okay I guess. I can't get past a dungeon in _Twilight Princess_ though." "You like _Legend of Zelda_?" Mikey's blue eyes brightened. "Love it. Do you like _Legend of Zelda_?" Cori chuckled and turned to Mikey. "Love it!" "What other video games do you play," asked Mikey. "Well, I played a lot of _Legend of Zelda_ games. I've always wanted to try _Metroid_ but I never got the chance. I play _Mario_ and _Pokémon_. I have a Wii and a DS so I only play Nintendo games." Mikey stared at her, his mouth open.

"You're amazing. April and Casey don't play video games. My brothers sometimes do though. We also have an Xbox. But not the new one where Microsoft can spy on you, considering we're turtles." Cori and Mikey had reached the ladder to the surface. Mikey climbed up first and opened the manhole. He climbed up and offered a hand to help Cori up.

Cori grabbed it and he pulled her up. "So, what else are you interested in," Mikey asked. He was happy that he could finally talk geeky to someone. "Well, I love comic books. Specifically DC and Marvel. I also like to read." During the conversation Mikey had carried her to the roof tops. "Thanks, uh, I also like to draw." The talked about comic books for a while until they arrived at Cori's apartment.

The sun disappeared behind a cloud as they climbed down the fire escape. "Sorry, got to go." Mikey waved at her as she left the alleyway and into her apartment. Her mother was waiting for her in the lobby. "So, how was the sleepover?" "Good," Cori replied. She hadn't been entirely lying but there were some negatives about her stay at the lair.


	20. Cori is Crow? (April's POV)

I was afraid Casey was avoiding me the whole day when I went to school on Monday. In fact he seemed to avoiding me and Cori. He didn't even talk to me during class. He just sat there awkwardly, not saying a word. At least I got to talk to Cori though. She recovers fast. Either that or she hides her pain remarkably well. I gave up hope on Casey until the end of the day. I was walking home with Irma when Casey showed up. He followed me and Irma. Finally I turned around and said "What do you want Jones?" He shifted.

He was wearing a black leather jacket that crunched when he moved. "I would like to talk to you alone." He stared at Irma while he said it. I sighed. "Irma, I'm sorry—" "No it's okay. I'm used to it. You two need a chat. See you tomorrow April." Irma walked away. I turned to glare at Casey. Although he had done nothing wrong she couldn't help but feel angry at him. "This better be good." Casey rubbed his neck. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for exploding at you like that yesterday. I just lost my temper that's all." I relaxed my gaze.

"I'm sorry too. I just didn't want you to find out about Cori that's all." We started walking to the park where we usually hanged out at. "Man, you guys have a lot of company at that place. I mean first that Crow chic and now Cori." I couldn't help but face palm myself. "Casey, Crow is Cori." "What?" "Crow is Cori." "But I thought Crow was supposed to be like a hero. I mean Cori isn't fit enough to be a hero. And she's kinda unattractive." I whacked Casey with my book bag as hard as I could.

"What the hell was that for?" "First of all Cori isn't unattractive, she is pretty. Second of all, just because she isn't a model like the girl superheroes in the movies doesn't mean she can't fight." "You look like a model." He blushed. I would have blushed but instead I gave a smart remark. "Charming." "Ah, c'mon. I have to be hard on her; I'm supposed to be the only superhero around here." He smiled at me.

"You need to see a dentist," I said. "And you need anger management." I rolled my eyes. "Look who's talking Mr. Best buddy is Raph." Casey laughed. "Everyone needs an abusive friend. I bet Crow has one." "Whatever," I replied. I didn't feel like making a witty comeback so instead we just walked to the park together.


	21. Video Games (Cori's POV)

It's been two weeks since the Kraang attack. Leo still trains me. Raph is still grumpy and I still have a mental connection with April and Donatello. The turtles won't let me go on patrol, even though I was doing it before I met them. Sometimes I regret coming down here because that means that they'll leave me behind while they go on patrol, leaving me stuck with April training with Splinter. I know that they don't want me fighting until they're sure my burns have healed but it still sucks. It got better though after they started to leave Michelangelo behind.

But I got worried. I didn't want Mikey to feel like he got excluded from patrol. We were playing _Goldeneye 007_ on his Wii when I asked him about it. "How come you're done here while they're up there?" Mikey shrugged. "I don't know. I guess they don't want me. They always complain about how I'm a goofball all the time." I gave him an incredulous look. "Of course they want you. You're their brother." Mikey's eyes were still glued onto the screen. "Doesn't seem like it. Raph was the one to suggest me staying at home." I couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. "They probably wanted you to stay at home to protect us if anything happened." Mikey shook his Wii remote and I heard an explosion come from the TV.

He had exploded me. I would have reacted back but I was still upset by what Mikey thought his brothers thought about him. "I doubt that," he said, "Splinter could take care of himself without any of our help." He turned to smile at me but it wasn't a true smile. It was one of those that you use on people to signal the end of a conversation. I turned back towards the TV. "Mikey, your brothers love you. If you won't believe me fine, but don't become a villainous mastermind because you didn't understand their feelings." "If I do, I want an evil cape with a mask. And then my voice would be really low like this."

I laughed. "Or maybe I'll have a voice like this," he said as he imitated Christian Bale's Batman. "Sure." We played video games until Mikey's brothers came home. I could hear them clumsily walk into the kitchen. For ninjas, they were like a herd of elephants. "So, why are you guys home so early," I asked. I dared not look to talk to them because Mikey was on my tail. I needed all of my attention on the TV. I heard someone grunt. Probably Raphael. "We had a situation," Leo said. Mikey paused the game. "Aw, but I was so close to killing you." I heard a large thump and I jerked my head back. Mikey was already in the kitchen.

The guys looked horrible. They were all cut up and were covered in bruises. Donnie's staff was in pieces. I saw that Raph was on the floor. I got scared. I never saw them beat up before. I practically ran over to help Raph. "Thanks," he grunted. "Did a train hit you guys," I said. Raph looked like he was going to break into tears. I never saw him looking so vulnerable before. "It was Spike," Leo said at last. He winced as Mikey began to wrap up his injuries. "That wasn't Spike. It's Slash. Their different," Raph said.

He began to wipe his eyes. He really must have been crying. Everyone grew silent. The only sound was the occasional hiss from pain. "Who's Slash," I said after the awkward silence. "No one, he's no one," Raph yelled. He stormed off into his bedroom. I gave Donnie a look. He waved at me and shook his head. "Later." I didn't want to wait. I try not to do this but since no one was telling me anything I delved into Donnie's memories, looking for anything related to Slash. It was horrible. Slash almost killed Donnie and his brothers. All because he wanted to make Raph happy.

I looked further into his mind looking for a memory of last night's attack. Slash looked like a living nightmare, someone I hope not to meet. He almost beat them within an inch of their life. I couldn't help but feel rage. I wanted to hurt Slash for almost killing my friends. "Stop doing that," Donnie shouted at me. "What?" "Stop reading my mind!"

How did he know? Donnie was glaring at me. I picked up a roll of gauze and alcohol. "I'll go see how Raphael is doing." I jogged to Raph's room. I don't know what it was about Donnie's gaze but it sent chills up my spine. I knocked on Raph's door. I didn't hear any reply but I came in his room anyways.


	22. Raphael

Cori walked in the room. The walls were covered with posters of a variety of bands. Other than that it was fairly clean. "Raph," Cori said quietly. He was lying on his bed, his arms spread out wide as he stared at the ceiling. Cori looked up at the ceiling. It was covered with painted stars. "Go away," Raph said. His voice was different. It didn't have his normal hot-headed self in it. Instead it sounded like someone who had given up on life. Cori stood in her spot for a while.

Raph looked up at her. "You need to clean your ears." Cori smiled. At least he could still make a smart comment. Cori walked over to Raph's bed and sat down. The bed was soft. Raph sat up. His eyes were red from crying. There were water stains in his bandana. "You know, the only reason you're still in here is because I don't believe in hittin' girls," he sniffled. "Karai as an exception," Cori said. She began to wrap the long gash in Raph's leg. "Raph, this may mean absolutely nothing," Cori said, "But I'll be there for you when you need me to. I understand how hard it is to lose a friend."

She looked up at Raph. "And that's why you can always talk to me about Spike." Raph said nothing. "Are you going to say something or are we just going to sit in silence." Raph lay back down. Cori sighed. She continued to wrap his leg. She hummed a song as she worked. "You like Imagine Dragons?" Cori looked around. "I'm sorry, was that you? I didn't realize you were capable of having a conversation with me," she teased. Raph waved his arms in the air. "Yeah, well I'm sorry that I started the conversation too." Raph sat up again.

Cori smirked. "Someone's so happy today. You're as cuddly as a piranha too." Raphael rested his arms on top of his legs. "I'd rather be a snake." "Really? I'd thought you'd say turtle." Raph shrugged. "Well, you know. You can't have everything," he said. Cori jumped off of his bed.

She cocked her head towards the door. "C'mon, your brothers probably want to be with you." Raph slowly got off his bed. He was reluctant to go but eventually he got off his bed. He limped slightly as he walked out of his room. Before they exited Raph turned to Cori. "I don't look like I cried, do I?" Cori laughed. "Yes, it looks like you bawled your eyes out. You're fine." They walked into the living room to find the guys sitting on the couch. They sat next to them and watched a horror movie. They didn't go to bed until 1:00 AM. Cori could only think one thing. TGIF!


	23. Slash

Cori woke up. She had a nightmare about the guys. She shifted in her bed to get it out of her head. She never understood why people in movies always jerked up from their bed when they had a bad dream. She always was motionless on the bed whenever she woke up. She stretched her arms and legs out as far as she could and rolled off the bed. She landed with a soft thump. She glanced up at the clock. It read 4:34 AM. Cori heaved herself off the floor and walked to the kitchen to get something to drink.

She was extremely thirsty. She tried to make as little noise as possible as she opened the fridge. Cori took the gallon of milk and picked out a glass. She began to pour some into her glass when she heard a sound. Like footsteps. Cori cautiously glanced at the entrance to the lair. At first she didn't see anything but then saw a large silhouette of a turtle. There were spikes on it that dripped green ooze. It was Slash. Cori scurried back to the kitchen. She tried to quiet her breathing as she heard him approach the kitchen.

She looked back at him again from her shelter. He took a couple steps forward and looked at her. He smiled evilly. He broke into a run towards her. Cori thought of plans of escape but they quickly disappeared as she saw Slash almost near her. She couldn't think of anything else to do so she screamed. She screamed as loud as she could as Slash went to hit her with his mace. Suddenly he vanished. Donnie ran next to her. He wasn't wearing his mask. None of the turtles were. Splinter burst into the room.

"What is the matter?" "What happened," Donnie reiterated. "I-I thought I saw…" "Crow," asked Mikey. Cori gulped. How could she say Slash was here but then disappeared into thin air without sounding crazy? All of the turtles had a pleading look in their eyes. "I thought I saw, Slash," she said at last. Nobody said anything. They were all too shocked. Donnie turned to Leo. "Do you think he would follow us here? He never has before." "Cori, maybe you should stay with one of us tonight," suggested Raph. "My sons," Splinter said, "I would much rather if you stayed with me in the dojo. I have never seen Slash myself but last time you encountered him you were injured. I do not want that to happen a second time."

No one said a word but instead nodded. The only noise came from Donnie and Leo talking to each other in low voices. The stopped talking and looked at their brothers. "I'll take watch," said Leo. Raph opened his mouth to object but Leo shook his head. "Raph, I need you to protect our family in case anything happens." Raphael said nothing.

Leo pulled up a stool and placed it next to the entrance of the dojo. He sat down as the rest of them entered the dojo. Splinter stayed behind and talked to Leo for a little but then came in. He closed the door gently. "You know what this means," asked Mikey. "Slumber party!"


	24. Formulas

Cori woke up. She looked around. She was in the dojo. So it wasn't just a demented dream after all. Only Donatello was awake. Splinter was nowhere in sight but most likely in his room meditating. Donnie was scribbling on a piece of paper. Cori shoved her blanket off of her. Her back was sore from sitting on the floor. Donnie looked up and smiled. He gestured for her to come over. Cori, as quietly as she could, walked over Mikey and Raph.

She never realized Raph snored but then again, how would she know. She sat down next to Donnie and hugged her knees close to her chest. She looked over at the paper Donnie was holding. It was full of complex equations. She gave him a quizzical look. "Formulas for retro-mutagen," he whispered. "And thanks for asking me," he continued. "I see you have gotten better about rummaging through people's minds. Now I need to ask you some questions." "What questions," Cori whispered. Although it wasn't really whispering. It was more like silent yelling. Raph stirred in his sleep. "We need to work on that," he silently chuckled.

Donnie stood up along with Cori. They opened the door to find Leo sitting in the same spot as before. He turned his head slightly but not enough to see them clearly. "What time is it," Leonardo whispered. Donnie pulled out his phone and looked at it. "Almost nine." Leo turned his gaze back at the entrance. He clutched his katanas as if ready for an ambush. Cori felt pity for him having stayed up all night. Then she felt inspired by him. He stayed up the whole night to protect his brothers. She was going to say something to him but Donnie was already dragging her away. "Don't worry, he wouldn't have left until everyone was awake," he said.

Donatello opened the doors to his laboratory. He pulled out a seat for Cori to sit in and sat himself at his computer desk. Cori sat herself down. Donnie started to chew on a pencil. "So, what exactly did you see last night," he said. "Or earlier today," he corrected. Cori rubbed her arms. It was cold in the lab. "Well, I went to get some milk because I had a bad dream and then I heard footsteps. Then Slash was standing there oozing." "What was he oozing," asked Donnie. "Well, green stuff. I don't really know what it was but it came from his spikes on his back. Then he looked around and saw me and started running at me. He was about to hit me with his mace but then he just disappeared. Like one of those special effects whenever something fades away." Donnie was engrossed in his computer screen. He was typing as fast as she was saying the words. "Uh huh, then what? When did he disappear?"

Cori scratched her head. "When you came in the room I guess. Maybe a bit earlier." Donnie said nothing. Finally he said "I think, I think you were seeing my dreams." "What," asked Cori confused. "Well, you know that we are connected mentally. And that you feel my pain, which you forgot to mention the first time you were here, and you could read my thoughts. I don't know how you do it but I think you can see my dreams too. For example, today you saw Slash because I was dreaming about him attacking me. I don't think you see my dreams when you're asleep because your mind is 'resting' so you have a weaker connection with me. This means that you must have the same connection with April."

Cori was still confused. "But I never saw you or April's dreams before until now! How could I see them all of a sudden?" "That's because you were always sleeping in. April never sleeps over that much anymore and I usually stay up all night." Cori thought over what he said. All of it was true but one detail stood out the most. "But what about my mom? I don't think I've ever saw her dreams before." Donnie thought for a while before he said anything. "Well, you're mom's a security guard but she's always awake when you go to school, right? Mothers usually wake up early by habit. And maybe you did see her dreams before when you were littler and thought it was just a nightmare." Cori never thought of that before.

She never realized that her mother devoted herself to her daughter like that. Suddenly a memory popped inside her head. It was when Donnie, Leo, and Raph came home yesterday. She looked back at Donnie who was typing something on the computer. "Alright, but I have a question for you," she said. Donnie turned to her. "You can hear my thoughts, can't you?"


	25. Stubborness (Donnie's POV)

"What do you mean," I asked. "You know what I mean," she said. Her voice wavered with anger but also with something else. "I'm talking about last night," she continued, "Where you knew I was looking in your mind. You happened to let that explanation slip." I cracked my knuckles. "Well, I didn't think that I could hear your thoughts like you could hear mine. But then, I heard you. Well there wasn't any sound really but like a pressure in my head. I knew it had to be you. Call it intuition." She looked unconvinced.

"Okay, I don't really know what happened but that's why I wanted you to talk to me. I want to run tests on you." Cori crossed her arms. "Am I a test rat now?" "No, no, I mean I just wanted to see if I could enhance your power. I think it might be telekinetic like April's." Cori's eyes widened as she said "April has superpowers?" I rubbed my neck and gave a nervous laugh. "I guess I might have left that out. Look I just want to see what your prime is," I said. Cori looked down at her feet. "Alright, but first I want Leo in a bed since you happen to make him stay up all night for nothing!"

I was shocked by her attitude. I nodded and left the lab. I was also kind of embarrassed and maybe a little scared of her. I stood next to Leo. He looked up at me groggily. "You need to go to sleep. Slash isn't here. It was probably a false alarm." My brother shook his head. "No, Slash could still be out there. He knows where we live." "And it'd be stupid if he came here when we're all united instead of by ourselves," I replied. Leo shook his head and continued to stare at the entrance. I couldn't believe how stubborn he was sometimes. Almost like Raph.

I sighed. I knew I'd have to force him to go to bed. I didn't want to but I saw Cori glaring at me from a crack in the door. I rubbed my face and retreated into the dojo. There I woke up Mikey and Raph. "No, my lovely princess. Not yet," Mikey mumbled as I shook him. Mikey's eyes bulged out of his bed as he woke. He looked dazed. "Donnie, what's the prob?" I ignored him and went to wake up Raph. I was about to shake him up when he said "Don't you dare." I smiled as I said "But don't you want to get back at Leo for all those years?" Raph didn't move. "I'm listening." "Leo's been up all night," I explained, "And we're going to force him to go to bed." Mikey rubbed his eyes. "But slash might be out there." I winced. I didn't want to mention Slash in front of Raphael. "No, we've cleared that up, but Leo isn't convinced. I don't think he'll ever be if we don't do something about it." Raphael stood up. "I'm in. So what are we planning to do?" I fiddled with my belt. "Well, I was planning we could just drag him to bed." "I call legs," Mikey shouted. I grinned. They were in. We walked out of the dojo and surrounded Leo. He looked at us lazily.

"What are you guys doing?" He was interrupted when we grabbed him. He put up quite the fight. "Hey let go! This isn't funny!" We carried him to his room and set him on his bed. He tried to sit up but Raph pushed him back down. "Don't make us lock ya in here," he threatened. "But Slash," Leo pleaded. "It's fine. Dude's gone," Mikey reassured. "Are you sure?" Leo directed his question mainly at me. "Yes," I said. Leonardo's face turned to relief as he lay down on his bed. "Good, now leave." I rolled my eyes. My brothers were different that's for sure. I closed the door after us and reentered the lab. Cori had a smug look on her face. "Thank you," she said. I groaned in reply as I sat at my desk.


	26. The Pacer

It was Monday September 22nd. Mondays were always the worst for Cori. She feared that it made her look like she was getting over a hangover from her drowsiness. Then again she was more awake than most. April was talking to her but she wasn't listening. "Cori, is it true you saw Slash? Cori? Cori?" "Huh, oh yeah. I mean it wasn't really Slash. It was just like a hallucination." April just looked at her. "I'll explain it to you at lunch," Cori said.

The bell rang as Science finished. Cori stretched and started walking downstairs to math. Cori loved math. One of the only people who did anyways. She had a good teacher too. She was real close to him because her mother is a friend of his. Cori opened the door to her class. She sat down in a desk and yawned. Her teacher walked in five minutes later and began writing notes on the whiteboard. The day dwindled by until Phys. Ed. This was the only class Cori had with April except for science. She was in the locker room changing. April almost slammed into her locker. She was late, as always.

Cori laughed at the sight. April opened her locker. "Not everyone can have a class downstairs you know." Cori pulled on her white t-shirt that had her name on it. "I never said anything," teased Cori. April began to get dressed. "Well, it was pretty obvious," April replied impatiently. Once dressed, April and Cori joined the other students in the gymnasium. Their teacher, Ms. Strenold, began to speak. "Today we are going to take a pacer." Everyone groaned. "And," she continued, "You'll need a partner to track your progress each round. Group up now." Of course April and Cori were going to be in a group. Cori never liked anyone else in her class.

Cori lined up with some other girls on a line while April got a piece of paper and a pencil. A voice came through one of the speakers in the gym. "The pacer will start in thirty seconds…" Finally there was a ringing noise and Cori started running. She pretended to breathe heavily and have trouble running. Finally she got to thirty-seven laps when she stopped. She sat on the floor next to April.

"Why'd you hold back," April asked. Cori was fake-panting. "What do you mean?" April stood up and passed the paper to the teacher then returned. "Well, I know you could go more laps. You're not that out of shape considering you roam the streets at night." Cori stretched out her arms and stopped panting. In her normal voice she said "Haven't you ever read Spider-man?" April rolled her eyes. "No because I don't like comic books," she said. "Well if you did, you would know that you shouldn't seem like you are the superhero. So Peter acts like a wimp and stuff when he's really Spider-man," Cori said.

April got up as the pacer started again. "BRB," she said. Cori waved at her and took a piece of paper. She wrote April's name on it. She sighed and recorded April's progress on the paper.


	27. A Different Dimension

"I hope you know that you are wasting my precious homework time," Cori said. She sat down. "Me waste your time? Didn't you know that everything I say is important," Donnie joked. Cori smirked. "No, I didn't realize that. I guess I didn't get the memo." Donnie sat down in an office chair and rolled across the room. He picked through a stack of papers he kept on his desk. He shuffled through them until he found a manila folder. "Ah, found it!" He flipped through the pages that were in it. "Now, I'm going to do some EEG tests now. Don't freak out about the wires," Donnie said. He rummaged through the drawers of his desk until he came upon some wires. The ones they used in hospitals.

"What's an EEG," Cori asked. "It's a study of electrical waves through the brain." He began to attach them to Cori's head with little metal disks that stuck to her head. He then attached the wires to a recording machine. He plugged them all in and then said "Okay, now delve into my mind." "What do you want me to do," asked Cori. Donnie shrugged. "Just go through my memories, see what's there," Donatello said. Cori scowled but then relaxed her face. She didn't want to do this too often. She began looking through Donnie's memories.

It was like flipping through a large book. There were words and pictures and complex formulas. She heard Donnie say something but she couldn't make it out. Everything seemed muffled when she was looking through his memories. Her vision even began to dull. Finally she found something that interested her. It was a memory of giant alien worms in… Manhattan? It was the weirdest thing that she had ever seen. It was awesome though that the turtles travelled to a different dimension, sort of.

Donnie was saying something but it sounded like a faint whisper. She would have continued looking through the memories but Donnie was shaking her. She didn't notice before but now her hearing and vision was almost completely gone. As Donnie continued to shake her she began to see clearly and hear clearly as well. It felt like she was waking up from a dream. "Cori, are you okay? Cori, answer me," Donnie incessantly yelled. "What, what," Cori shouted. Donnie stopped shaking her.

"Good, you're back. Thought I lost you for a moment." Cori was confused. She hadn't black out at all. "What do you mean," she said, "I didn't black out." Donnie sat back in his chair. "Maybe but you weren't responding to anything I was saying. You didn't seem to notice me at all. I just wanted to make sure." Donatello saw her look of concern and quickly remarked "You're fine though. Nothing bad about your vitals." Cori relaxed a little.

Donnie wrote something down and said 'okay, now I want you to mentally speak to me." Cori sighed. "Donnie, you know I can't do that. I can only hear your thoughts," she said. "Well, just humor me," he said. Cori shrugged. She began thinking about her day and transmitting it to Donnie's brain.


	28. Happy Mutation Day!

"Mikey! Get in here," Raph yelled. "Dudes, hide me. I think Raph found out about the roach war I started," Mikey whispered to his brothers as he hid behind them. Raph stormed out of the kitchen and in front of the TV. "Raph, you're blocking my idiot box," Donnie said. Leo turned to Donatello. "Idiot Box?" "Because if you watch it for too long, you'll turn out like Mikey," Donnie replied. "Hey," a voice said behind the couch.

Raph jumped over the couch. "There you are you little dork. You're in big trouble," Raph said. Mikey kneeled in a begging manner. "I'm sorry about the cockroach war. It was a simple joke," he pleaded. "You did what," Raph screamed. Mikey gulped. "So, you're not mad at me for that," he said. Raphael raised his fist in the air. "Why I outta—" "Raph, take pity on the poor soul Mikey already is and come in the kitchen. It's his birthday," Cori said as she walked into the room.

"But it's my birthday too," Raph said, "And Mikey hasn't started on the cake yet. He's the only one who knows how to cook here." Cori shook her head and said "Honestly, it's like you're talking about the last piece of food left in the world. Come on, I'll teach you how to cook," she said. "But tough guys don't cook," argued Raph."Hey I'm a tough guy," Mikey said. Cori put her hands on her hips and said "Well be a tough girl like me and learn how to cook." Raph muttered something as he left Mikey alone. Right before he was out of sight, Raph ran a line across his neck and glared at Mikey. "Eep," Mikey squealed as he retreated to the front of the couch. "And this is why I cook badly on purpose," Leo said. "You do it on purpose," said Donnie. "No, I just really can't cook," said Leo.

Raph and Cori entered the kitchen. About three presents were already on the table. April and Casey were doing last minute shopping for the party. "Do you have a recipe," Cori asked while rummaging through the cupboards. "Do I look like a guy who would know that," Raphael said. Cori turned to him. "Yes, you do look like the guy is all tough but really a softy on the inside. I can really see it now," she teased. "Ya know, I said this probably before, but the only reason I'm not beating you up right now is because you're a girl." "Except for Karai?" "Except for Karai," Raph reiterated. "Ah, here it is," Cori said as she lifted a piece of paper in the air. She studied it. "Now, get three eggs, flour, white sugar, vegetable oil…" "Please, one at a time. I may be smarter than Mikey but I ain't no genius," Raph said. "Hey! I heard that!"

Cori smiled and repeated the ingredients as Raph got them out. "Now open the bag of flour and pour six cups of it into the mixer. Raph opened the bag and a cloud of flour came out of the bag. Raph sneezed and got out a cup of flour. "Hey, I didn't say heaping," Cori said. Raph looked at the cup and said 'What's the matter with it. The flour built up a small mountain upon the cup. "You have to scrape the excess flour off like this," said Cori as she got out a knife and scraped the extra into the bag. "This is why I don't cook," Raph said. Raph scraped the cups of flour into the mixing bowl and added ½ cup of vegetable oil. "Now, lock the mixing machine and set it to, no not that one," Cori said. Too late. Raph set the mixing speed too high and the flour and vegetable oil splashed up in his face. Cori covered her hand in mouth, not in horror but to hide the fact she was laughing.

Mikey just happened to walk in and began to laugh his head of. Raph wiped the flour out of his eyes. 'I'm gonna—" Cori burst out laughing. "I'm sorry it's just, you look ridiculous," she said while she laughed. Raph looked down at himself and chuckled a little. "Yeah I guess I do," he admitted. Off in the living they heard Leo say to Donnie "Donnie, I think there's something wrong. Mikey laughed at Raph but I don't hear any pummeling coming after it." "You're right," Donnie teased, "I wonder what's that about." Donnie and Leo sat up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. They started to laugh as well at the sight.

Cori calmed down and said "Could you guys help Raph clean up. I don't think I can stand the sight of him anymore without dying of laughter." "We wouldn't want that, would we," Raph said. The four turtles walked into the bathroom as Cori continued to make the cake dough. Raph finished wiping off all of the flour when Mikey said "You love her don't you?" "What, no I don't," replied Raph quickly. Donnie chuckled. "It's obvious isn't it? The only reason you didn't kill Mikey so far today is because she's telling you not to." "No, i…" Raph blushed. "Raphie's in love," sang Mikey. Raphael punched Mikey. "Ow!" "Don't tell her okay," Raph said, "Or anyone else or I'll kill you all." "Relax Raph, we got you covered," answered Leonardo. "Good now get out," Raph shouted. He continued to clean up.

Cori put the cake in the oven as Raph walked in the kitchen. "That's better," she said a she leaned on the counter."So, when are Casey and April coming," Cori asked. "Right here," April said as she placed some wrapped gifts on the table. Raph and Casey greeted each other with a knuckle bump. "Presents," Mikey shouted as he and Master Splinter emerged into the kitchen. Mikey smiled at Cori and then back at Raph. "What," Cori asked. "Oh, nothing," said Mikey. He began to hum the tune he was singing earlier.

Raph hit him on the back of his head. "Ow!" "Teenagers," Splinter said. "Tell me about it," April said. "Hey April, could you help me with making the icing? I would ask Raph but, that didn't go so well last time," Cori said with a smirk. "What happened," April said. "I'll tell you later," replied Cori. "You better not," threatened Raph. "What happened," Casey asked. "Casey, could you set the table," ordered Cori. "I don't take orders from anyone," Casey said defiantly. April dropped some plates in his arms. "Well now you do." Casey mumbled something. "I don't like your tone young man," said April. "Yes ma'am," said Casey.

April and Cori started making the icing as Casey set out the plates. After about twenty minutes the cake finished baking and Cori and April assembled and decorated it. Finally it was finished and the table was set. April shoved in the candles as Cori got a lighter. "Guys, cake's ready," April yelled. They all showed up instantly at those words and sat down. "We forgot the ice cream," Cori said. She walked over to the freezer and opened it. An ice cream cat handed her a carton of ice cream and closed the door. Cori turned around and froze. "What was that?" "Oh, that's just April's cat that Mikey turned into ice cream with some mutagen," Leo said. "Is that where my cat went," April said as she glared at Mikey. "Well sorta," Mikey said avoiding April's gaze.

Cori placed the carton on the table and started to light the candles. "Happy 16th Mutation day you guys," she said. "Yeah, happy birthday." "Happy mutation day guys." "Make a wish," Splinter said. The turtles huddled together and talked about. "It's a wish guys, not some secret infiltration plan," Casey said. "Ready," said Donnie. "One, two, three…" They blew out the candles. Splinter began to cut up the cake. "So, after cake, can we go to the surface," asked Mikey. Splinter smiled. "For today, yes," he answered.


	29. It

Raph and his brothers were running over the rooftops of New York City. Cori or "Crow" was with them but strangely not April or Casey. Raphael couldn't remember why. His brothers and Cori were just recklessly running around when Donnie got a signal from his mutagen tracker. "It's coming from the harbor," he said. At once they began to run to the harbor. Finally they reached it and found the glowing mutagen like a beacon in the night. Mikey bent over to grab it but was thrown through the air. "Mikey," Leo shouted. He landed on the wooden deck with a loud thump.

Leo rushed to him as a hoard of foot ninjas appeared. Their leader was Rahzar. Before Raph could even blink the fighting started. There was a clashing of metal. There seemed to be more ninjas than he thought at first. Throughout the fight, Raphael watched Cori with a careful eye. He didn't want anything to happen to her. Raph didn't know how long the fight was but it felt like they were fighting for an hour. His muscles began to grow sore and he hesitated more than he should have. While looking around he saw Rahzar approach Cori from behind. His claws were outstretched.

"Crow, no," Raphael shouted. He flung himself in front of her. A sharp pain dug into his gut. He looked down. Thick blood was running down his stomach. Rahzar had stabbed him. Raphael collapsed on the ground. His breathing came in sharp breaths. Each one hurt more than the last. Raph heard a thump next to him and saw that Cori had fallen. She had been stabbed as well. Despite his efforts he couldn't protect her. Suddenly everything stopped. The fighting stopped, everyone was frozen in place. As if time had stopped. Raph noticed that his wound did not hurt anymore.

He looked down. It wasn't there anymore. Not even a sign of a scratch. Raph looked over to Cori. She was frozen in place too. She didn't move, not even the slightest of twitches. Either that or she was dead. Raph stood up. It seemed impossible. How could you stop time? "Donnie, did ya do something cause I am really freaked out," Raph said. He heard a shuffling sound behind him. He turned around. Cori was shaking. Raph reached out to her but then jerked his hand back. Cori's features were being warped. She looked almost like a… Raph screamed and jumped back. "This has to be a dream, has to be a dream," he reassured himself.

Cori was now a giant cockroach. The _thing_ approached him. Raphael tried walking backwards but his legs didn't seem to work. "Raphael, what are you doing?" Raph covered his face with his hands. The _thing_ was talking to him. "Please tell me this is a dream," he said. "Yes, Raphael, it is a dream. And I'm afraid that this dream won't be pleasurable." The voice of the _thing_ was unlike Cori's. It was a low masculine voice. Smooth and silky. Although Raph wasn't horribly terrified anymore he was still freaked out. "You have made a mistake Raphael, one that you do not think was unnecessary. Do you know what that mistake was?"

Raph didn't say anything. He planned not to say another word to the _thing_. "You don't know do you," _it_ said with an incredulous tone. "Look around, what do you see?" Raphael looked around. He didn't notice it before. It was Leo. He was stabbed by a foot ninja. His face of shock was frozen on his face.

"Because of your carelessness you failed to notice that your brothers needed you more." "No, but Cori was going too…" "Who was really more important, a girl you met a month ago? Or you're brothers who you have known for fifteen years," _it_ said.

Raph stood there motionless and ashamed. He should have been there for Leo, but Cori would have met the same fate. Wouldn't she? "Raphael," _it_ said, "there will be a time where you must know what you could do, what you would do, and what you need to do." _It_ stood up so that _it_ leaned over Raph. _Its_ features again disappeared and were replaced but this time with Slash's body.

"If I was you, I would leave your brothers and go with the girl. I don't even know her that much but I know she'll be better than those punks," he said. Slash's features turned into Splinter's. "No, Raphael. You must be loyal to your family," Splinter said. "Well which do I do," screamed Raph. "I can't just save one just to know another will die." Splinter faded into air slowly. "Don't leave," cried Raph. "Remember my words Raphael, remember them," _it_ said. _Its _body was out of sight but the voice echoed throughout the harbor. Raphael sunk down to his knees. "Don't leave me," he whimpered.


	30. Bad Day

A loud arrangement of heavy metal woke Raphael up. "Ahh," he screamed as he rolled off his bed. From the floor he reached for his alarm clock. He slammed it off. He tried to stand up but fell back down again because his blanket was wrapped tightly around his legs. He struggled to get them off until at last he succeeded. He leaned back and hit his head off of his dresser. "Argh," he shouted. He stood up and stomped towards his door. While getting up he stubbed his toe on his bed stand. By now Raph was already exclaiming all of the (*cough) "colorful vocabulary" that he knew.

He opened up the door as violently as he could and slammed it with a loud boom. He didn't care whether the others were up yet. He stormed through the hallway to the kitchen, making as much noise as possible. Michelangelo was sitting at the table eating some cereal. "Raph, are you ok," he asked. He took a spoon full of cereal and swallowed. He swallowed and said "Do you need a hug?" Raph grumbled as he pulled out a chair and started to pour his milk into his bowl. He turned his head to glance at the clock. "Raph," shouted Mikey. Raphael jerked back and spilled the milk. "You were going to… spill it," Mikey said with a quiet voice.

Raphael had enough of this morning already. He slammed Mikey's face in his cereal bowl and left. Mikey licked his lips as Raph left. Raph was about to sit on the couch when he saw Leo sitting there. The nightmare haunted him of when Leo got injured. He froze in place behind Leo. Donnie came out of his lab wiping his hands on a cloth. He was covered in grease. He pulled his goggles to the top of his head. "Hey, has Mikey finished breakfast yet. He said he'd be back in ten minutes. It's been like—" Donnie was interrupted when Raph tackled him to the ground.

"You should've saved him. You were there. You could have saved Leo," Raphael shouted at Donnie. Donnie scratched at Raph to let him go. 'I don't know what you're talking about. Stop it Raph," Donnie replied back. Leo split them up by now. Leo looked at Raph. "Raphael," he said in a low voice. Raphael felt like he was waking up from a dream. He looked at Leo and back to Donnie. Donnie now had a fresh black eye. "Donnie, I…" Raph choked up but he didn't cry. He didn't want to show his weakness to his brothers. Mikey ran into the room. Milk was all over his face. "Dude, what happened to your eye," he said. Donnie glared at Raph.

They heard a creak from Master Splinter's room. He opened his door and looked at the scene. He didn't look angry but disappointed. "Raphael," he said. Raph turned to his brothers. Donnie was already walking back to the lab and Mikey to the kitchen but Leo just stood there. Did he hear about how Donnie should've saved Leo? Of course he had, why would he break up the argument if he didn't hear it? "Raphael," Splinter repeated. "Yes, sensei," responded Raph. He walked into the dojo silently and ashamed. Master Splinter closed the door silently.

The dojo had the scent of freshly burned incense. Splinter had been meditating. Raph turned to his father and pleaded "I didn't mean to. It just happened." "What happened? You mean where you dunked Mikey's face into the cereal or when you tackled Donnie for no good reason," Splinter responded. Raph looked down. He felt Splinter's hand on his shoulder. "Raphael, I know that you are having more than just a bad day. Is something bothering you?" Raph looked up into master Splinter's face.

He looked sad and old, unlike his usual self. "Yes," Raph said with a sigh, "I, uh, had a bad dream." "What happened that has troubled you about it?" Raphael broke away from Splinter's grip. "What hasn't bothered me about it," he shouted in frustration. Raph sat on the floor and held his head in his hands. Splinter leaned down next to him. "Perhaps, you will feel better if you seek guidance," suggested Splinter. Raphael sighed. "Alright, but I don't think it will do anything," he said. Raphael began to talk about his dream. Master Splinter sat there quietly only interrupting once or twice to clear things up. "And I'm afraid," continued Raph, "that I have already chosen what I would do." "My son, you have reached a maturity that I am proud of," Splinter said. "What do you mean," asked Raph.

Splinter chuckled as he said "You and your brother Donatello are head over heels for a girl. Donatello spends his days thinking about her but he does not realize what is important. You however know the consequences of love. Donatello is only thinking about the positive things." "I don't understand." Splinter sighed. "Your brother, he does not always stay with you," he said, "He often goes to April to protect her. He does not realize that both April and his brothers need him. You however know that and know that sometimes you must sacrifice things for those who matter. What I am saying is that you know that your brothers need you more, but you still want to be there for Cori."

Splinters looked directly into his eyes and said "But remember that your family comes first. You may not understand this at first but you will eventually. Cori is waiting outside for you if you like." Raphael stood in his spot. "That doesn't mean you can't talk to her," teased Master Splinter. He shooed Raphael out of the room. Cori was about to knock on the door when Raph walked out. "Oh, hi Raph. I was looking for you," she said with a smile. "Uh, I need to talk to Donnie real quick. And the others," Raph said quietly. He left her and walked over to the lab to talk to Donnie.


	31. Apologizing

Raphael drew in a sharp breath as he opened the door to Donatello's lab. Donnie was nowhere to be seen. Raph was about to turn back around when he heard Donnie shout. 'You stupid piece of scrap metal," he yelled. There was a loud thump. "Ow," he shouted. Raph chuckled and walked into the garage part of his lab. There Donnie was, lying underneath the Shellraiser. He crawled out from underneath and took off his goggles. His black-eye reminded Raphael what he was doing there in the first place.

Donnie looked up at Raph. "Oh, hey," he said dolefully. "Listen Don, I-I'm sorry. You know about the thing earlier," Raph said. Donatello smiled and said "What was that I didn't hear you." "You know what I said," Raphael shouted. "Alright, alright, I heard you. And hey, it's okay. Bad dream?" Raph nodded. "Yeah, have those all the time. Well you better be off. I'd rather not get mad around you because of a stupid machine," Donnie said, "because I don't need you pummeling me because I yelled at you." "Alright, just don't hurt yourself," Raph said. "Can't promise anything." Raphael smirked as he left the lab.

Now to apologize to Michelangelo. Mikey was still in the kitchen except now he was doing the dishes. He finally cleaned off the milk on his face and was wiping the table. "Hey Raphie," Mikey said. "First of all, my name's not Raphie. Second of all, I'm sorry,' Raphael said. Mikey looked up and spread out his arms. "Mikey you better not—" "Does someone need a hug?" "Mikey, no," Raph said while trying to push Mikey away. "Don't fight it," Mikey whispered as he hugged Raph. Raph rolled his eyes and said "Okay, get off me before I have to apologize for something else." He looked over Mikey and saw Leo and Cori. They both had smug looks on their faces.

Raph felt himself blush and pushed Mikey away. "Aww isn't that adorable," Cori said in a voice you talk to puppies with."Hey Raph, can I see you for a sec," Leonardo asked. They went into the living room. Raphael didn't dare to sit down; he was already unsettled because he knew where this conversation was going. "Hey, what was that this morning," Leo asked. Raph rubbed the back of his neck and said "Well, I just had a bad dream…" Leo looked at him. He wasn't convinced. "And maybe you uh, died in it," Raph said, his voice getting quieter with each word. "It was just a bad dream I swear," Raph said. Leo let out a breath of relief. He looked over to Mikey and Cori. They were laughing about something. "It seems like we all have bad dreams these days," Leo said at last.

His gaze lingered on Mikey the most. Raphael noticed and said "Did something happen?" "No, it's just… sometimes I'm scared for our lives. And it seems like I'm not the only one." Leo didn't say anything else. Raphael wanted to ask more questions but Cori interrupted his thoughts when she grabbed his arm. "Hey, c'mon, we're going biking," she said. "Isn't it cold to go biking in October," Raphael asked. "Not if you have a jacket," she replied. "Well, isn't it daytime. I can't go out now," he said looking for an excuse. "When have you ever turned down an excuse to go up top? Besides we're going to go somewhere where nobody hangs out, that's all," Cori said, "And don't say that you don't know how to ride a bike. You can bring your skateboard if you want."

"Fine," groaned Raphael. Cori smiled and ran to get her coat. Raph turned back to Leo. He grinned. "Have fun, love bird," he said. Raph pushed him and said "Oh, shut up." Raph grabbed a coat and began to walk through the sewers with Cori. She looked at his coat with a curious gaze. "What, turtles get cold too." She shook her head teasingly and said "I never said anything."


End file.
